Satellite Telephones...

[sfc]

I''m looking at picking one up, anyone have any guidance or suggestions on what to look for, or watch out for?

I''m interested in aviation specific ideas; i.e. don''t get Model A as it doesn''t fit in a flight suit, Model B doesn''t work near a running a/c, etc.

Also, which providers do you guys use. I''ve been in the UK for a while now and know nothing of the Canadian marketplace

Thanks

 

[Charles W.]

SFC:

Do a google search under "Iridium" they make a small handheld.

I have been using a sat. phone since 1996 for ferrying aircraft. Sat. phone beats the hell out of HF anywhere on the planet, it is worth its weight in diamonds out over the ocean or in the center of the Saharah desert when you need quick clear communications.

Chas W.

 

[Flinger]

sfc,

The company I worked for had two from Global Star. They were about the same size as a 6 year old cellphone and could carry up to 2 cell numbers as well.

Expect to pay out the ying yang for the phone itself, $150plus a month, and around $4.50 a minute.

 

[sfc]

Thanks lads. I had found Iridium (via InfoSat) and Globalstar. The two options I''m considering are:


Iridium 9505 Portable Handheld Satellite Phone


Globalstar Hand Portable Phone - Tri-Mode


I''m leaning towards Globalstar and their Qualcomm handset because it also works as a cellular phone and it''s a little easier on the pocket - although the Iridium phone is sweet

Anybody got some more info/opinion they''d like to share?

 

[Bladestrike]

Try to contact one of the EMS boys in Ontario. I know we had one system that wasn''t that great. We had a hard time getting connected and were forever getting cut off, then they switched to another and it was flawless. Only I don''t recall which was which???

 

[sfc]

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On 3/25/2003 4:00:59 PM Bladestrike wrote:
Try to contact one of the EMS boys in Ontario. I know we had one system that wasn''t that great.
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Thnaks... I''ll try

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Wow I can''t remember who we had service through...but I know that we weren''t paying anything close to 4.50 per minuite!! I believe we payed around 1.10 per minuite. Afterall I could never see my old boss calling his wife at home if it hurt his pocketbook that bad. I would however recomend buying a phone with the added cell feature. You may want to contact Hydro One''s flight division....they have some nicer looking phones now days, and they work much better than the old global-stars.

 

[sfc]

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On 3/26/2003 5:53:00 PM Puddle Jumper wrote:
...I would however recomend buying a phone with the added cell feature. You may want to contact Hydro One''s flight division....they have some nicer looking phones now days, and they work much better than the old global-stars.
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Cheers lads. Thanks for your input

 

[sheephunter]

I have both the Global Star and Iridium. Be careful with Globalstar, they don''t work everywhere but where they do work, they are better than Iridium for not "cutting out" and they do connect quicker. The best feature with Iridium is the pager. Mine are the older models though. 1.10 cdn/min. seems to be the approx. rate. I saw at a show where they had all the gear to hook one of them up to your headset. Don''t recall which one it was. It is costly to call from one system to the other. A must have for all bush pilots.

 

[I FLY]

I own a Globalstar Sat phone and I have used it
on Baffin Island sitting on the east side of Baffin on the shoreline of a Fiord and the peaks around me at 3000-4000 feet and if you are just going to use it for emergency then the monthly is around $30.00 and $1.99 a minute. I use it when ther is no cell coverage and mind you my phone bill is a little higer than most, but thats why we all make huge dollars flying helicopters.